A wireless local area network (WLAN) typically comprises one or more WLAN terminals, e.g. a laptop computer, where a given WLAN terminal may be connected to one or more WLAN peripheral devices, e.g. a wireless mouse, a wireless keyboard, a smart phone, etc., associated with the WLAN terminal.
In order to enhance security in communications in WLANs and provide means for secure access to base stations (BSs), e.g. APs, from terminals or mobile stations (MSs), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has established 802.11 series standards. Furthermore, in May 2003 the People's Republic of China enacted a national standard GB15629.11 for providing security and authentication in WLANs, usually referred to as WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) protocol. In this regard, Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) has proposed an authentication mechanism known as Wireless Privacy Authentication (WPA) based on IEEE 802.11i standard. In May 2003 the People's Republic of China enacted a national standard GB15629.11 for providing security and authentication in WLANs, usually referred to as WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) protocol, which provides an alternative method to IEEE 802.11i security standard. The authentication mechanisms in WAPI and WPA may utilize the same Physical Layer based on IEEE 802.11 specifications, but differ in encryption and key exchange procedures.
Connection between a WLAN terminal and a WLAN peripheral device is typically established via an Access Point (AP) of a communication network.
The properties of the connection between the WLAN terminal and the WLAN peripheral are such that an independent mode communication link is most effective and practical compared to an infrastructure mode communication link. Hence, when packets are communicated between the WLAN terminal and WLAN peripheral devices the WLAN terminal is generally operating in independent mode, and when packets are communicated from the WLAN terminal to another WLAN terminal the WLAN infrastructure mode is employed.
Thus, communication in a WLAN comprising a number of WLAN terminals and a number of WLAN peripheral devices, where typically each WLAN terminal is associated with one or more WLAN peripheral devices, may involve a relatively large degree switching between communication modes for WLAN terminals, which may encumber communication in the WLAN with regards to performance.